7 Project Management Apps that are Actually Games

Believe that playing games on your phone isn’t productive? Well, think again. Playing games can be fun AND help you sharpen your project management skills. Add value to your skillset and relax at the same time? It’s a win-win!

Just in time for your summer vacation, we rounded up the 7 best project management apps that are actually games. Enjoy while travelling, at the beach or at home tonight.

1. Tetris

What you do

This classic game involves rotating various falling shapes with the goal of connecting them and creating gapless horizontal lines (which disappear) before the shapes stack up too high. It involves planning ahead and efficiently using the shapes given.

What you learn

By being able to shift resources in real time, a project manager is able to get the most done for the best possible cost. This ability to see into the short- and long-term future in terms of moving resources sets the professionals apart from the novices.

Where to download

2. Clash of Clans

What you do

Build a village, raise an army, and join clans with friends as you battle players from around the world. Use strategy and teamwork to level up and earn money, then use that money to upgrade your army or village.

What you learn

A good project manager must be able to collaborate and use teamwork to get the most out of each member of the project team. PMs must also maximize efficiency and effectiveness while working with a budget.

Where to download

3. Bloons Tower Defense

What you do

Strategically buy, place, and upgrade various defense systems with one goal in mind: making sure no balloon gets by unpopped. Plan ahead as levels get increasingly difficult to conquer.

What you learn

Some issues that arise within project management involve much deliberation and planning to solve, while others require quick decisions in crunch time. Good PMs must be able to solve these issues effectively while staying within the budget.

Where to download

4. RollerCoaster Tycoon

What you do

Described as “a game with an addictive mixture of strategic planning and simulation,” RollerCoaster Tycoon allows players to create and run their own theme park. Add rides, manage restaurants, and keep customers happy as the park grows.

What you learn

Between budgets, resource allocation, and task management, project managers often need to keep track of many things at once. In a growing organization of any size, having the right balance of resources (human and budgetary) and quality products that keep clients satisfied is a differentiated skill. With this app, you hone your skills at thinking on a higher, strategic level.

Where to download

5. Cooking Fever

What you do

Manage a restaurant and cook hundreds of dishes using different ingredients and appliances in this time-management game.With more than 400 levels, you cook various dishes while upgrading your kitchen.

What you learn

Allocating resources is an acquired skill that requires forecasting both capacity and skill type. Just as each various dish requires the right amount and mix of ingredients, your teams require the right number and type of resources. Effective PMs are able to get creative and make the most out of the resources available to them.

Where to download

6. Plague Inc.

What you do

Develop an infectious pathogen and try to wipe out the entire population. But there’s a catch: your disease has to be able to wipe out the human race before mankind is able to stop you. Increase your pathogen’s infectiousness and resistance to medicine, alter how it’s transmitted, and find other ways to make sure your germs move fast. Mix strategy and simulation as you develop a plaque worthy of wiping out the world.

What you learn

Project managers often need to make strategic decisions as they work against the clock. A good PM realizes a sense of urgency and foresees challenges that could get in the way. Practice how decisions today impact the short-term and long-term success of your project hitting its impending deadline.

Where to download

7. FarmVille

What you do

Invest in different crops with limited budget, and tend to them to make sure you harvest the value from your investment. Harvest fresh crops, customize your farm to make it stand out, nurture and raise livestock, and pull fish to sell at Pike’s Landing. Reinvest your profit in the farm so you can keep growing.

What you learn

Nearly every PM feels the pressure of monitoring burn rate and making sure they stay within budget. That requires a combination of knowing how much money you have to burn, how best you can invest it, and what to do with the profit you make. A great PM brings in projects at or under budget, produces great quality work, and helps scale their organization.